In November, 1981, the State of Florida granted a Charter to the Gulfport Community Players, Inc., designating us as a Not-for-Profit organization. As of Dec. 2003, we have had a 501(C)(3) tax status.
We are a completely separate entity from the City of Gulfport, but we do, however, rent the Catherine A. Hickman Theater of Gulfport for our mainstage performances.
All of our mainstage productions are currently performed at the Catherine A. Hickman Theater of Gulfport. This theater is entirely owned and operated by the City of Gulfport, Florida. It is locatedat 5501- 27th Avenue South in Gulfport, FL. We rent this theater for our performances from the City.
Theater rental rates may by obtained from the City of Gulfport by contacting Gulfport's Events Supervisor, Gail Kelley, at: gkelley@ci.gulfport.fl.us
2008-2009 Season Schedule
Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, a drama by Frank McGuinness
Play dates: April 23rd - May 3rd, 2009
Audition dates: Feb. 23rd & 24th, 2009
Director: Bill Rucker
9th Annual Summer One Act Play Festival
Play dates: July 9th - 19th, 2009
Audition dates: May 26th & 27th, 2009
Directors: assorted
2009-2010 Season Schedule
Beau Jest, a comedy by James Sherman
Play dates: Nov. 5 - 15th, 2009
Audition dates: Aug. 31st & Sept. 1st, 2009
Director: Vic Carr
Gulfport - The Musical , an original play by
Gil Perlroth
Play dates: Jan. 7 - 24th, 2010
Audition dates: Sept. 14th & 15th, 2009
Director: Daniel Harris
You Can't Take it with You,a comedy by
Moss Hart & George S. Kaufman
Play dates: March 4 - 14th, 2010
Audition dates: Jan. 4th & 5th, 2010
Director: Eileen Navarro
Cookin' with Gus, a comedy by Jim Brochu
Play dates: April 22 - May 2nd, 2010
Audition dates: Feb. 22nd & 23rd, 2010
Director: Judy Ryerson
10th Annual Summer One Act Play Festival
Play dates: July 8 - 18th, 2010
Audition dates: to be announced
Directors: assorted
ALL AUDITIONS TAKE PLACE AT 7 P.M.
5501- 27th Avenue South
Gulfport, Florida
2007-2008
Board of Directors
Eileen Navarro, President
Judy Ryerson, Vice-President
Gil Perlroth, Secretary
Jim Russell, Treasurer
Carol Polk, Board Member Honorarium
Donna Naughton-Adell
Julius Preston Brock
Glenn Suyker
Jim Tobin
Cathy Culler
Miki Vaughan, Facilities Chair
Bill Rucker, Funding/Marketing
Gulfport Beach Bazaar,
CLOSED
This year's 'Cathy Award Winners
Brick, as Best Actress in a Short Play (So You Want to Go to Heaven)
Norm Nash, as Best Actor in a Short Play(Sorry for the Inconvenience)
Olga Kruse, for the Best Production of a Short Play(Two Letters to Emily)
David Smith, for the Best Original Writing of a Short Play(Let Me Tell You About My Operation)
Frank Hale and Jim Russell, for Best Technical Design (Lights and Sound) for (Auntie Mame)
Jim Deveney, for Best Set Design(Laura)
Nema Runyan, as Best Actress in a Cameo Role(Auntie Mame)
Dick Shultz, as Best Actor in a Cameo Role(Auntie Mame)
Susan O'Gara, as Best Supporting Actress(Auntie Mame)
Victor Carr, as Best Supporting Actor(The Silver Whistle)
Ginger King, as Best Lead Actress(Auntie Mame)
Keven Renken, as Best Lead Actor(Someone Who'll Watch Over Me)
Bill Rucker, for Best Director(Someone Who'll Watch Over Me)
Carol Polk, for Best Production(Auntie Mame)
CLOSED
Directed by
Daniel Harris
CLOSED
Announcing aWORLD PREMIERE
NOW CLOSED
Musical Director
Bill Bryant
Words & Music by
Gil Perlroth
Original story by
Gil Perlroth & Lynne Brown
A little over a year and a half ago, a resident and well-known playwright of Gulfport named Gil Perlroth, teamed up with a Gulfport Historian named Lynne Brown to create a never-before-seen musical. This tremendous effort on both their parts is coming together in January, 2010 at the Catherine A. Hickman Theater in a play entitled,
Gulfport: The Musical.
The play was a joint effort by the City of Gulfport and the Gulfport Community Players to kick off the City of Gulfport's Centennial Celebration. It was based upon some of the many historical highlights of the unique City of Gulfport, Florida.
Under of very able direction of Daniel Harris and backed by a cast of 26 actors, this play was an historical tale of the ups and downs of this small Florida town by the bay. And quite a tale is was!
Many years ago, The Great Hurricane of 1921 destroyed and changed the character of Gulfport forever. What was once a small fishing village was wiped out by that storm. People were starving and there seemed to be no way to make a living. Then later Prohibition arrived, and what was left of the fishermen turned to bootlegging. Time marched on to 1980 and then biker gangs virtually took over the waterfront. It took quite some time to get rid of them, but Gulfport did in time.
Today Gulfport is a city on the move, but, unlike the larger neighbor cities around the state, it just doesn't move as fast as them (and seems to have no intentions of ever doing so!). Gulfport is a very laid back community and the residents like it that way. To coin the old phrase, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".
The Gulfport Centennial Celebration will continue all the way through 2010, but, for now, we paused a bit and enjoyed a bit of history and saw a great play about this very special city by the bay known as the Gateway to the Gulf.
